Francis will be tasked with all technology-related resources, workflow and staff in areas of engineering, said THX, and will find ways to feed the technological information into the certification and optimization programs. This is a new position.

He previously served as chief technology officer of entertainment services and senior VP of Technicolor Licensing, and went on to found AgencyIP, a patent technology broker agency.

“I could not be more excited to join THX during this exciting period of growth and development, when new technologies such as VR are rapidly becoming a part of our cultural norm,” said Francis. “VR is where film was in 1915 — it’s the early days, and I’m thrilled to be a part of an innovative, risk-taking team at the cutting edge of exploring this new frontier.”